A Healthcare System Revamp: The Latest from Herman Miller and Nemschoff

October 13, 2010

Whether we realize it or not, the furnishings and systems that fill our hospitals and clinics make or break the quality of our inevitable visits to the doctor. By opting for advanced lifting options, for example, we can be guaranteed a more comfortable stay whenever the time comes that our health needs tending to. Next month in Las Vegas, from November 13-16, the HealthcareDesign.10 event will showcase the latest high-tech systems and furnishings.

Knock on wood, let’s imagine being in a chair that features a smooth-motion, calibrated vertical lift feature that is so tech-savvy you can’t even feel it move beneath you. This new chair is called the Serenity III Exam Chair by Nemschoff, and was developed alongside the Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center of Sioux Falls, SD to demonstrate a higher level of usability aimed at patient satisfaction after innovators studyied the hospital’s ambulatory care environment.

To spatial efficiency as the baby-booming generation ages, the Dex Folding chair by Nemschoff - created in collaboration with Gary Cruce - uses the folding mechanics of a typical folding chair with added width, joinery sympathetic to infection control measures and cleaning requirements, and a refined performance to hold up to 350 lb without taking up more space. They can be narrowly folded up for compact stowing or hung wherever storage allows, offering the patient and waiting rooms more flexibility.

Compass System. Designed by Herman Miller.

Dex Folding chair. Designed by Nemschoff in collaboration with Gary Cruce.

Serenity III Exam Chair. Designed by Nemschoff.

Designed for “true modularity and ease of use”, Herman Miller’s Co/Struc System supports rearrangements in various healthcare facilities. Just as durable as permanent solutions but simultaneously flexible and ergonomic, it makes perfect sense for our healing environments to offer versatile solutions that can work with the constant changing of technology.

Lastly, the Compass System is a new modular system by Herman Miller Healthcare that provides staff, patients, and visitors a warm, welcoming aesthetic. Its interchangeable components can be used to create applications that make working easier and visiting or healing more enjoyable, not to mention its inclusion of preventative features that make it even easier to clean and keep sterile. Co/Struc and the Compass Systems are compatible, leading the industry standard with Herman Miller Healthcare’s 12-year product warranty.

As stated in their recent release, the latest products have been “designed to enhance both the patient and caregiver experience” reaffirming that these “thoughtfully designed healthcare solutions from Nemschoff and Herman Miller Healthcare prove they are the prescription for the ever-changing healthcare environment.”